Chapter 629 - 631: If One Plan Fails, Devise Another
The very next morning, Kong Kongshou was sent off to the Government Office by Cui Fan and Liu Di. Before he left, Bai Ruozhu gave him some medication for his wound. It wasn’t that she was motherly, it was because she was afraid he would faint from excessive bleeding making it difficult for interrogation at the Government Office.
Kong Kongshou probably misunderstood her intentions, thinking that Bai Ruozhu was soft-hearted, and speaking to her in a pitiful tone, he said, "Mistress, can you spare me, I promise to steal something for you free of charge, or maybe two things?"
Bai Ruozhu gave him an eye roll and said, "I do not engage in stealing, save it. Go to the Government Office and confess fully, strive for leniency through honesty, and serve your sentence properly. Make a change for the better after this."
Kong Kongshou was almost crying when he left. Given his age, his character was quite amusing - a middle-aged man who was allegedly a master thief was actually a chatterbox and liked to act pitiful.
This time Bai Ruozhu did not go to the Government Office. Bai Zehao accompanied Cui Fan instead. Together, they explained the situation to the Prefect officer. Kong Kongshou was interrogated on the spot. He confessed honestly, but did not seem to know much. The Magistrate decided to detain him first and said that once the results of their investigation are out, they will inform the Bai family.
Lu Minglang was concerned about possible disturbances from the Turkic people. So, in the following days, he gave Kong Kongshou quite a questioning. Kong Kongshou, despite being physically hurt and tormented, couldn’t identify any main culprit. In the end, they had to settle with drawing the portrait of his supervisor.
Bai Ruozhu did not really care whether they could expose Lady Li or not. The latter was extremely cautious and if her supervisor was indeed found out, it would still be tough to trace any evidence back to Lady Li.
As long as they didn’t succeed, and someone was caught, it was enough to make them nervous for a while.
However, soon the news of someone stealing the blueprints from the Bai family spread throughout the city. Many ladies and young women who were looking forward to attending the new product launch started discussing it again due to the potential changes that might affect their plans. Many felt that it was the doing of Hua Xiangrong’s competitors, and in Beiyu City, there was only one competitor of Hua Xiangrong, that was the counterfeit, Cui Fan.
For a while, many people ridiculed Qi Yun’s employer, saying that they should have engaged in fair competition instead of engaging in illegal practices which showed a lack of respect.
Of course, no one knew that Lady Li was Yun Xiangrong’s employer. Even less, could they imagine the City Master’s Wife was part of it. However, Lady Li and Wang Miaoshuang were so fumed at the situation.
"Fool! Couldn’t you find a more capable person?" Wang Miaoshuang banged the table and shouted at Lady Li.
Lady Li’s face turned red and she spoke softly, "Please calm down, Madam. Kong Kongshou is quite a notorious thief from around here. He is agile and skilled in lock picking. Nobody expected that the Bai family would have two bodyguards left by the old lady."
Wang Miaoshuang’s eyes narrowed slightly, the bodyguards of the Meng Residence were truly beyond what an ordinary family could have. At this time, she didn’t feel that Lady Li was incompetent but gritted her teeth thinking: It’s that damn old woman who’s causing me trouble.
"Madam, I’ve thought about it. Since we can’t arrange a product launch before theirs, why not try to ruin their launch instead? As long as they mess it up, Hua Xiangrong’s reputation will be tarnished and she won’t have the ability to compete with us," Lady Li said, and a vicious light flashed in her eyes. This time, she would definitely not let Bai Ruozhu have an easy time.
"Oh? Do you have a good idea?" Wang Miaoshuang was slightly in a better mood now, and her tone towards Lady Li also softened.
Seeing the change in her mood, Lady Li was secretly relieved and whispered her plans into Wang Miaoshuang’s ear for a long time. A smile gradually appeared on Wang Miaoshuang’s face.
"If this doesn’t work, we can do this instead..." Lady Li continued, Wang Miaoshuang’s smile becoming even broader.
"Not bad, but everything must be done cleanly, without leaving behind any clues," Wang Miaoshuang replied, her smile finally fading, and wearing a serious expression.
Lady Li nodded, "Madam, don’t worry, I will be careful. Even the thief Kong Kongshou knows nothing."
Wang Miaoshuang nodded in satisfaction, her gaze turning to the hairpin on Lady Li’s head, saying, "Your hairpin is a little plain. I have a jade one that might suit you. I’ll give it to you as a gift. "
Lady Li’s face lit up with joy, knowing this was Wang Miaoshuang’s reward for her work.
She graciously accepted the exquisite jade hairpin handed to her by Wang Miaoshuang, gratefully saying, "Thank you, Madam, for your generosity!"
Wang Miaoshuang gave a minimal nod, a hint of smugness at the corners of her mouth.
...
In the blink of an eye, the day of the Long-tou Festival in February arrived. In Danliang Country, there was no custom of cutting hair on the day of the Dragon bringing its head up as they believed that body and hair are given by our parents, and it is not okay to casually cut their hair.
On this particular day, the street where Hua Xiangrong was located was unusually lively, causing the neighbouring businesses and vendors to enjoy increased sales, which were more than double that of normal days.
Some smart merchants got people to carry poles and hawked hot roasted chestnuts around. Quite a number of ladies and young misses bought them, believing that eating something hot would warm the body in such cold weather.
Bai Ruozhu had turned her newly rented shop into a place for esteemed guests. Those with an invitation had seats, those with higher statuses sat on the second floor while the rest sat on the first floor.
A red carpet was unrolled from Hua Xiangrong’s second floor, extending to the street outside the door of her shop, spreading out to cover ten or so meters on both sides and then turning into the new shop on the right, extending all the way to the second floor.
All the help from the Bai family was present to provide assistance that day, Zhang Liliang served as the shopkeeper. He greeted the guests at the door saying, "Thank you for gracing us with your presence. Please make way for the red carpet so everyone can enjoy the fashion show."
"Fashion show?" The crowd began murmuring, wondering what a fashion show meant as they had never heard of it before.
"Shopkeeper, can you explain what a fashion show is?" a lady asked.
Zhang Liliang laughed and said, "Please stay calm ladies, you will understand once you see it."
Fusa was in the new shop welcoming the VIP guests who were attending today. As the shopkeeper of Hua Xiangrong’s shop, she often dealt with these people on a daily basis.
Even Wang Miaoshuang had received the invitation and despite Bai Ruozhu not wanting to invite her, she was the City Master’s wife and thus it was obligatory to offer her the first invitation. Of course, Bai Ruozhu also invited the Old Lady. At the moment, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived together. However, Wang Miaoshuang came along with Lady Li in a horse carriage.
Bai Ruozhu hadn’t sent an invitation to Lady Li, but if Wang Miaoshuang wanted to bring someone with her, nobody could stop them at the door.
"Shopkeeper Lin, where is your boss? We have all come here because of her; shouldn’t she be here to talk to us?" said Lady Li, who sat next to Wang Miaoshuang.
"Indeed! With all the festivities today, where is Miss Bai?" Wang Miaoshuang agreed with her, her eyes filled with a smug smile.
Fusa bowed and politely replied, "In response to the City Master’s Wife’s inquiry, our boss is busy backstage. She mentioned that since everyone was kind enough to grace us with their presence, she must strive to organize the product launch well, otherwise, she would feel embarrassed to meet everyone. She personally oversees everything so it’s likely she’ll only appear after the launch."